The study suggests that the European Commission’s next review of the Community Trade Mark Regulation and Trade Mark Directive will result in an even closer cohesion between national marks, and between national marks and the Community Trade Mark.
On 8 March 2011, the European Commission published a study by the Max Planck Institute entitled “Study on the Overall Functioning of the European Trade Mark System”. The study was produced in response to a request from the Commission for a comprehensive examination of trade mark law in Europe, with the ultimate purpose of assisting the Commission in a future review of the Community Trade Mark Regulation (CTMR) and the Trade Mark Directive (TMD).
Overall, the study suggests that the Commission’s next review of the CTMR and TMD will result in an even closer cohesion between national marks, and between national marks and the Community Trade Mark. Although at present there is no time frame for the Commission’s review, the study is being closely scrutinised by practitioners, as it is widely seen as the precursor to widespread and fundamental reform of the European trade mark system.
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